"What still remains unknown is, of course, the result of elections in Serbia due to be held this year, and as far as the Croatian side is concerned, the preconditions for a new step forward in the promotion of relations towards a new policy in the region have been created here," Pupovac told reporters at a traditional reception in Zagreb given by the SNV ahead of Orthodox Christmas.

When asked to what extent the mutual genocide lawsuits were affecting relations between Croatia and Serbia, Pupovac said that they were the result of old policies. "There is no doubt that the lawsuits should be made unnecessary through dialogue and by proposing solutions," to the issue of missing Croats and Serbs from the 1991-1995 war, he said, adding that those solutions should be in line with the agreement on war crimes trials and the return of cultural treasures stolen during the war.

When asked why none of the officials from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) were present at the SNV's Christmas reception, Pupovac said that they had been invited and that the question should be addressed to the HDZ. He noted that he did not see any political message in it.

Pupovac's SDSS party was a junior coalition partner in the previous government led by the HDZ.

Responding to questions about the recipients of this year's SNV award for anti-fascism, Pupovac said that both Josip Boljkovac and Rade Bulat were two prominent Croatian antifascists. "One a Croat, the other a Serb, they symbolise what represented one of the biggest values of the antifascist struggle, and that was togetherness for the freedom of Croatia," he said.